Full Fact - The UK’s independent fact checking charity

Albert Einstein did argue the rich control the means of communication and this damages democracy

27th Feb 2020

Claim

Albert Einstein warned in 1949 the time would come when the rich would control the means of communication, making it impossible for ordinary people to make informed decisions.

Conclusion

Einstein wrote that this had already happened in 1949.

A post on Facebook claims that, in 1949, Albert Einstein warned that the time would come “when the very rich so controlled the means of communication that it would be almost impossible for ordinary people to make informed decisions and so democracy would then be broken”.

This is a largely accurate summary of an article written by Einstein in 1949.

In the inaugural May 1949 edition of socialist magazine Monthly Review, Einstein argued that private capital “tends to become concentrated in few hands”, resulting in “an oligarchy of private capital the enormous power of which cannot be effectively checked even by a democratically organized political society”.

“It is thus extremely difficult, and indeed in most cases quite impossible, for the individual citizen to come to objective conclusions and to make intelligent use of his political rights.”

The Facebook post suggests that Einstein was warning that this is what would happen in the future, rather than commenting on the present as he was actually doing, but it is still largely correct in its summary of his point.

(The post also argues: “We live in the time Einstein warned about”, which is an opinion and not something that we can fact check.)

This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here.
For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as true
as it is a broadly accurate summary of an argument made by Einstein in 1949.

We’re all at risk from bad information.

Stay informed. Sign up to our weekly newsletter.

Covid-19 crisis: we need your help to protect us all from bad information

You’ve probably seen a surge in misleading and unsubstantiated medical advice since the Covid-19 outbreak. If followed, it can put lives at serious risk. We need your help to protect us all from false and harmful information.

We’ve seen people claiming to be health professionals, family members, and even the government – offering dangerous tips like drinking warm water or gargling to prevent infection. Neither of these will work.

The longer claims like these go unchecked, the more they are repeated and believed. It can put people’s health at serious risk, when our services are already under pressure.

Today, you have the opportunity to help save lives. Good information about Covid-19 could be the difference between someone taking the right precautions to protect themselves and their families, or not.

Could you help protect us all from false and harmful information today?